10/10/2010

Thoughts On A Sunday

The fall weather has finally asserted itself, with freezing cold nights and cool, breezy days. Peak foliage is running behind schedule here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, but the cold nights should help speed up the change in colors a bit.

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The cooler weather hasn't required us to fire up the Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove yet, but that time will be coming soon enough. For now setting the thermostat to 68°F when I come down in the morning and letting the furnace run for half an hour is all it takes to keep the house warm the rest of the day. Once the sun rises above the hill to our east the light floods into the dining and living rooms and the master bedroom upstairs, warming them enough to keep the house comfortable without the need to use either the furnace or woodstove.

That won't last much longer for once the much colder weather arrives we'll need the woodstove to keep things toasty warm. The only time we'll run the furnace is on those days or nights when it's below zero (the woodstove can't quite keep up when it's that cold out).

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Well, yeah. We've known that for quite some time. Only now the MSM is catching on?

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As regulatory control increases on medical research and taxes will be imposed on the sale of medical technology by various provisions in ObamaCare, venture capitalists who would normally fund start-ups wishing to exploit the new technologies have decided the hassles aren't worth it and are putting their capital to use in other areas.

Gee, I seem to recall a number of people warned that the Law of Unintended Consequences would come into play and the effects would end up hurting all of us in the long run. If the VCs no longer see medical technology as a viable or desirable investment, much of the new technology won't be developed...or at least it won't be developed here.

Yeah, that ought to be a real boost to the economy and the health care industry.

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I'm beginning to think I should dig out some posts of my own from the Weekend Pundit archives that deal with the same subject, though mine have a slightly different focus. But I'll wait a little longer before reposting them (after some updating). Look for them right around Thanksgiving, if not sooner.

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[M]any of today's liberals have a very bizarre notion on what "the law" is about, is for, and means.

--snip--

[S]o many of the left seem to think that simply passing a law makes a problem go away.

--snip--

Then wrap your head around this: it's also a tenet of the left that "bad" laws should just be ignored.

So, in effect, they want law to reflect what they believe to be right, even if that belief is momentary. Should we all follow that belief all we would have is anarchy. (Yeah, it's a bit of a stretch, but all we have to do is look at places where such belief is common, like Somalia. Anarchy has certainly made that place a paradise.)

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That's OK, because Secretary of Defense Robert Gates doesn't like Donilon either, and for good reason.

According to Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars, which has somehow gotten less attention at the Times than Woodward’s Bush-era tomes, Gates described Donilon as clueless when it comes to the military and was deeply offended by the disrespect the former Fannie Mae lobbyist showed to senior military leadership.

The new National Security adviser was a lobbyist for Fannie Mae? For cryin' out loud, I have better qualifications than Donilon! At least I actually worked in the defense industry for 20 years!

That really gives me the warm and fuzzies.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the leaf peepers have arrived in droves, the leaves still haven't reached peak, and where our boat will soon be coming out of the water.